I made this cutter about 15 years ago . Took an old reel lawn mower , and attached a 156 rpm gear drive motor ( 2inch to 5 inch V belt ) to turn reel . just lucky to get a good rpm . The feeder rolls are from an old copier.... i think ... and are rotated by a 12 rpm motor i got somewhere ... you need gears on the end to get opposite rotation to feed tobacco into blades . The feed bed was tricky as i had manufacture a few parts but you have to work with what you have depending on source of feed rollers ie copiers shredders old type writers... anything that can feed paper will do, just need two gears the same size on the same end . the 12-15 rpm attaches to the bottom roller and i made a spring mechanism to hold tension on top roller. I am sure to get more questions about this so adding a few pics[img]http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/cpg14x/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=0[img][/img]http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/cpg14x/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=1http://www.howtogrowtobacco.com/forum/cpg14x/displayimage.php?album=lastup&cat=0&pos=2[/img] This cutter has provided great cut tobacco for cigs ..not shredded like most of the cutters i've seen here ..

Thanks Bob for the help .. yes cutter looks dangerous but most adults are hopefully smart enough to keep fingers away from the blades .. no accidents here .. i need a good pic of the finished product .. working on this .. Tea

Why do I suddenly have a vision of a horror movie with the chain saw screaming as the camera cuts to blood splattering on a wall stuck in my head? "I used to be a pack a day smoker back when i had fingers to hold the cigarette". Okay nuff of the kidding around. looks like it get a good cut and 15 years performance I think it has proven it is not an accident. Now to remember where I left that old mower and copy machine. Actually I m eyeing the printer setting next to me. I am pretty sure it has been showing signs of giving up at any moment. that is the story I'm planning for my wife anyway.

As I set here reading I am becoming more & more impressed by the sheer creativity & knowledge found here on this forum. Between you, Tea, Dr. Bob, Rustycase, et al, just to name a few, really inventive people there is almost nothing that hasn't been discussed, debated & or tried. I'm a little abashed I can only participate vicariously most of the time, but that's the way it is. I'm wondering why this forum doesn't coauthor a book on how to grow tobacco to give noobies a running start on our hobby/necessity (heck, I'd buy one). What do some of the rest of you think?

5. Marketing a new book - just put in places where people like you & me will find it. Remember the principle "build it they will come".

6. Breaking even financially, not to mention making a profit, on a new book - To me this would be the perfect rebut to the Tobacco "Nazis" & the Obama taxman. I guess I'd donate anything to that cause. you know reeducation, maybe legal recourse, & to dispel the idea that only big tobacco can produce anything "good".

As I write this I'm thinking if I were retired I'd give it a whorl with help.

On the issue of a book. I have actually seen it attempted on another forum for pen making. It never really went anywhere as far as a book. But it did result in a very valuable Library of articles. A standing invitation is still in effect for that group to write an article at any time on any subject concerning pen making, and there are thousands of them, that will be included in that library. There is actually a member in charge of keeping the library orderly and such. Sort of like the librarian. Due to the difficulty of categorizing the articals they are simply filed by the year they where written. not the best system but it works so far. Their are articles far more technical than anything I have seen here. How to cast your own acrylic blanks. how to make a pen from a 50 cal. BMG round (actually several of them), basic tools, equipment and supplies to expect to buy for a new turner. detailed articles on lathe comparisons. Articles on what type of tools or equipment to select which to reject and why. the list goes on and on. If the idea of a book does not take off, I do highly recommend that this group creates a place for articles to be written and stored. They are not posted in a traditional forum and are not allowed to be commented on in a direct method such as a forum, they are permanent and written to be authoritative. It is recognized within the group that a person wiling to write such an article is taking a step above and beyond the norm as far as inviting criticism. safeguards to encourage participation and limit negative reaction are seriously upheld. In other words if you want to criticize the information placed in an article, you are as a whole by the group politely invited to shut the hell up and write a better article. otherwise the group prefers a badly written article to any individuals lack of writing one. Changes had been made to articles to either update them with current information such as new tools that are offered on the market, or for concerns of safety. A perfect example is an article on a pressure chamber used when casting acrylic. It was later discovered by another member that the chambers can and will explode. The article was edited to include information concerning this danger, the limits that the chambers can safely withstand in regard to pressure etc. All this was after one member had ran test on them intentionally trying to blow one up. still new things are learned every day. so the library is very much a living changing thing as new ideas are born, and new things are learned about old ideas and completely new methods are tried.

For tobacco growing I see the topics as far more definite, organizable and catagorizable. You have tools and equipment which can run anywhere from dirt and some seed to seed dibblers, potting soil, float trays, pots, trays flats, lights, shelves, fertilizers, planting trowels, pruning shears, and in my case even magnifying glass to find those tiny damn sprouts. And in some cases even a lawn mower and tracks over your seed bed.

anyone want to throw their hand into the task of writing an article just on methods of starting seed? how about a half dozen of you all. a couple to work on float tray method, a couple more for starting in seed beds outdoors. and yet a couple more to write about starting seed indoors with and without a nursery. Nursery being a dedicated set of shelves or table equipped with light and possible temperature and humidity control of some degree. In fact you could write an article on just nursery, what features you can include in one and the possible positives and negatives or relevancy at all of each.

I will say we have found that actual examples tend to be more convincing than opinion though. and great lengths are gone to to get them. For example. i can claim that florescent lights are perfectly fine for starting plants under. Many will claim that other sources of light will produce better results. This debate is a good one. Btu needs to be taken from just being opinion to being tested. Both persons int eh debate need to try and grow their pants under both conditions and then post the results allowing others to make their own determination. florescent lights at $10 for a 4 foot fixture may produce slightly smaller plants than say a grow light at $50 a fixture. Does the cost justify the expense? that is a questions that each individual must answer for themselves. for the person with a long growing season maybe not, for a person trying to grow tobacco to maturity on three months. it may be the only answer.

At the very least the Library must be monitored to a standard that has been set. The group as a whole determines what the standard is within the forums. Basically you can get a pretty good feel for what the group expects or respects in regard to information. Articles are permanent and held to that indicated standard in a more rigorous fashion. If you write an article and are vague on a particular point, you may be asked to complete it with more detailed information. you might be asked to provide links to sources or asked if it is okay for others to add them, etc. In other words there is an effort to keep what is int eh library, the highest quality writing the group has to offer. IT is not like the forum where anyone is allowed to write and post anything they want. it has to pass a gauntlet of requirements to be placed among a group of writings that are considered "Above the Norm". The way I like to put it. you want an article to be posted on the site. then you better put on your Sunday best. You have to pay the piper to get that sort of recognition. For one you have to pretty much be recognized as a person that knows about the subject at all. It has the risk of making the group look like a joke to have an article posted that is full of incorrect information, lacks complete information or has outright wrong or dangerous information. Better homes and garden would never publish writing of someone with no gardening experience. Similar standards need to be set and upheld in this case.

As far as an outright book. I don't think so, it get real ugly. For example if I write a portion of it and it gets sold at a profit. i am entitled to a portion of that profit. This can be solved by having people sign releases, but is it possible to get a release from every person that has posted on this group? you would need one for every person that you copied and pasted a post from. There is a very real thing called intellectual property rights. In a nut shell means my Knowledge is my property, I earned it. and even if I write something from that knowledge in a public place such as this forum. that writing is still very much my property. Many want to claim it is a case of public domain. the truth is on that other group we actually got a lawyer to look into it and found out that public domain will protect you about as much as a piece of paper will make a bullet proof vest. You could copy and paste what I wrote to another post, even a post on another internet group and not have a problem. you are just spreading what i did with my knowledge to a larger audience. But if you use to to make a book. you have done something with what is mine that I have not in any way indicated I agree with. I never wrote it intending for it to be published and may in fact feel like a fool to see it published. I may believe that I wrote a casual comment that does not at all reflect my complete knowledge of the subject for example. For all you know I may have a Masters Degree in Biological Engineering. Yet on this group may have made some casual but far from completely correct comment concerning genetics. For someone to publish my words puts my very career at risk. So the danger of taking someone elses words and using them are very complicated and risky. I think it is by far the best to stay with writings that the members knew where going to be placed in a position of of prominence. Hold them to a standard that that position deserves and simply be up front with the intended use of those writing right from the get go.